Republic of Mining

Kirkland Lake and the Amazing World-Class Abitibi Gold Mining Belt – Orefinders CEO Stephen Stewart Interviews RepublicOfMining.com’s Stan Sudol (July 10, 2017)

July 20, 2017July 10, 2017

The Abitibi is the largest Archean greenstone belt in the world. It’s roughly 150 km wide and starts just west of Timmins in Ontario – some say it starts in the Wawa camp – stretches for about 650 kms. in an east/west direction to Chibougamau, Quebec.

Since the first gold discovery in Timmins in 1909, the Abitibi has been the source of about 200 million ounces of gold and at least 35 billion pounds of zinc and 15 billion pounds of copper.

Both Ontario and Quebec have a number of significant mining camps.

Mining News: Prospects for change: NMA President Quinn encouraged by Trump’s resource development policies (North of 60 Mining News – July 9, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://www.petroleumnews.com/

After eight years of battling anti-mining policies being promulgated by the Obama Administration, the National Mining Association is cautiously optimistic about the positive change in the tone and substance of U.S. resource development policies since Donald Trump has moved into the White House.

“The November election ushered in a surprisingly swift and dramatic change, particularly in the way people in Washington D.C. view natural resources,” NMA President and CEO Hal Quinn said during a June 28 keynote speech at the Resource Development Council for Alaska annual membership luncheon in Anchorage.

The leader of the United States’ top mining advocacy group said the about face in the tone and substance emanating from the White House when it comes to mining policies extends to the nation’s resource sectors at large.

Potential rare-earths industry in the US must avoid China’s mistakes – by Carly O’Connell (Asia Times – July 8, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://www.atimes.com/

As of 2016, the United States’ demand for rare-earth elements depended on imports, mostly from China. Rare earths are a class of critical minerals, 17 in number, that are used in many technologies such as smartphones, medical treatments, wind turbines and high-performance defense-industry equipment.

Recently, politicians from America’s coal country with the help of researchers, have moved to break that dependency. They hope to re-purpose old mines to produce rare earths, thus stimulating new economic growth in places like West Virginia. But we must learn from China’s example and avoid devastating environmental consequences, which are costing China billions of dollars to correct.

The US uses about 15,000 tonnes of rare-earth elements every year, more than 700 tonnes of which go to defense. West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin recently told the Washington Examiner that America’s reliance on foreign sources for such a vital material is “a national security concern that must be addressed.”

Tesla to build titanic battery facility – by Dennis Normile (Science Magazine – July 7, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://www.sciencemag.org/

Tesla announced today that it will build the world’s largest lithium-ion battery system to store electricity in Australia. The 100-megawatt installation—more than three times as powerful as the biggest existing battery system—will be paired with the Hornsdale Wind Farm near Jamestown, operated by the French renewable energy company Neoen, in a deal with the state of South Australia. The Tesla battery should smooth out the variability inherent in sustainable power generation schemes.

“Cost-effective storage of electrical energy is the only problem holding us back from getting all of our power from wind and solar,” says Ian Lowe, an energy policy specialist at Griffith University in Nathan, Australia, near Brisbane.

The Tesla system, he says, will “demonstrate the feasibility of large-scale storage.” It might also win over skeptics who doubt that renewables can match the dependability of conventional fossil fuel and nuclear power plants, says Geoffrey James, a renewable energy engineer at University of Technology Sydney.

Community’s long history seen as a gift by residents – by Elizabeth Patterson (Cape Breton Post – July 8, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://www.capebretonpost.com/

SYDNEY MINES – If you offered Sheila MacCormick a chance to buy a brand new house, she probably wouldn’t be that interested. MacCormick lives in a brick and stone home that was built in 1853 for a mine office manager by the name of Sutherland who worked for the General Mining Association. It comes complete with hardwood peg floors, five fireplaces and uneven windows and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I just love old buildings and old things,” MacCormick told The Cape Breton Post at a heritage display and storytelling session at Holy Family Church hall on Saturday. “It’s got a lot of history and I just love it.”

MacCormick is just one of about three dozen people who attended the session held to mark Heritage Day in Sydney Mines. While the morning event, an outdoor heritage hunt, didn’t attract a lot of people mainly due to poor weather, many instead came in the afternoon to hear a discussion led by Ronald Labelle, Cape Breton Regional Library’s storyteller-in-residence.

Activists warn against more uranium mining in the Black Hills – by Kelsey Sinclair (Rapid City Journal – July 8, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://rapidcityjournal.com/

Let’s clean up one mess before making another. That was the message from members of two local groups opposed to uranium mining on Saturday, when volunteers gathered at the Outdoor Campus West in Rapid City to set up public information and outreach booths to speak to visitors about the importance of clean water and the impact of uranium mining.

In the wake of Azarga Uranium proposing a uranium mine in South Dakota, the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance and Dakota Rural Action have opposed the idea, saying that uranium mining would bring only short-term economical benefits while harming tourism and land, water and cultural resources.

“The vast majority of the mines have not been cleaned up. They put radioactive materials into the rivers and into the soil sediment,” Lilias Jarding said. “The main thing we want is to clean up the old uranium mines and not start any new uranium mines in the Black Hills.”

Diamond Hunting In The Arctic [Canada] – by Ludovic Hirtzmann (World Crunch – July 9, 2017)

July 10, 2017

https://www.worldcrunch.com/

GAHCHO KUÉ MINE — The old Jumbolino, a small, 1980s-model British plane, circles above the pack ice and its multitude of frozen lakes. Aboard, the 90 passengers, all of them miners, are waking up. “Welcome to Gahcho Kué,” the purser chants in a hoarse voice.

Gahcho Kué means “place of the big rabbits” in the indigenous Chipewyan language. But for outsiders, the name is synonymous with diamonds. The Gahcho Kué mine, owned by the De Beers company, is located in Canada’s Northwest Territories, about two-hour by plane from Edmonton, Alberta. It looks a bit like a lunar base, stranded on the tundra, endlessly flat and white.

After they land, the miners make their way onto a pair of school buses. The men are quiet. Later they arrive at the entrance of the camp, which is made of prefabricated huts arranged in parallel lines. A stern young man calls for silence.

Coal no longer fuels America. But the legacy — and the myth — remain – by Karen Heller (Washington Post – July 9, 2017)

July 10, 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

Boone County claims to be the birthplace of America’s coal industry, the rich and abundant black rock discovered in these verdant hills almost three centuries ago. Coal gives name to nearly everything in these parts — the Big and Little Coal rivers, the weekly Coal Valley News, the wondrous Bituminous Coal Heritage Foundation Museum and the West Virginia Coal Festival, celebrating, as we arrive in town, its 24th year.

The festival is more state fair than true celebration of coal. There’s a carnival, a talent competition, seven beauty queens (from Little Miss Coal Festival to Forever West Virginia Coal Queen).

Late in the afternoon of the second day, high on a hill graced with the statue of a miner, there’s a small memorial service for the West Virginia men who died on the job over the previous year. The most recent was 32-year-old Rodney Osbourne, pinned by mining equipment on June 14.

Chinese demand for rubies expected to sparkle – by Tess Ingram (Australian Financial Review – July 9, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://www.afr.com/

The takeover of London-listed gemstone miner Gemfields will leave an Australian ruby junior as the only direct-listed exposure to a burgeoning sector keenly watched by China.

Gemfields, one of the world’s largest miners of coloured gemstones and the owner of the Faberge jewellery brand, will be delisted at the end of the month after its major shareholder Pallinghurst Resources triumphed in a bidding war for the company over China’s Fosun Gold Holdings.

Minority shareholders in Gemfields were outraged when Pallinghurst, a South-African listed fund chaired by former BHP Billiton chief Brian Gilbertson, lobbed a nil-premium, all-share bid in May for the 53 per cent of the company it didn’t already own. Despite a rival cash bid from the Chinese conglomerate, Pallinghurst’s strong grip on Gemfields saw it prevail, with it now holding about 85 per cent of the company ahead of its offer closing on July 18.

COLUMN-Funds return to zinc as LME stocks plunge – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – July 7, 2017)

July 10, 2017

http://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 7 The zinc funds-fundamentals pendulum has swung again. Back in May funds were beating a collective retreat from the London zinc market after a second failed attempt at the big-number $3,000-per tonne resistance level. The London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month price troughed at $2,427.50 on June 7, since when it has bounced back to a current $2,783.00.

Funds have returned with a vengeance, according to LME broker Marex Spectron, which estimates they have gone from net short at the start of June to net long. Indeed at over 20 percent of open interest speculative length is back to levels last seen in January.

What’s caused this sharp shift in positioning? The short answer is LME stocks. While the headline number continues to tick lower, now down by 146,600, or 34 percent, on the start of the year, “live” on-warrant tonnage has slumped to levels not seen since 2007.

[Alaska] Robust Resources – Red Dog Mine celebrates milestone anniversary – by Melanie Franner (Mining North of 60 – April 14, 2015)

July 10, 2017

http://miningnorthof60.com/

It’s been 25 years since the opening of the Red Dog zinc and lead mine, created through an operating agreement between Teck Resources Limited (Teck) and NANA Regional Corporation Inc. (NANA), an Alaskan native corporation, to develop mineral resources on its territorial land. That agreement is still in effect today and has resulted in approximately $1 billion in royalties being paid to NANA.

“We have been operating the Red Dog Mine since 1989,” explains Wayne Hall, manager, communications and public relations at Teck’s Red Dog Mine. “There is a long history associated with the mine which began in the early 1980s when NANA began looking for a mining company to partner with that had experience mining in northern latitudes and cold climates.” That company turned out to be Cominco Limited, which eventually became part of Teck Resources, Canada’s largest diversified resources company.

NANA, owned by the Iñupiat people of Northwest Alaska, is the landowner of a region that measures 38,000 square miles, most of which is above the Arctic Circle. The region includes 11 communities that range in size from 122 to more than 3,500 residents.

Jack Bickell Chairman of McIntyre-Porcupine Mines: The Man Who Built Maple Leaf Gardens in the 1930s

July 16, 2017July 9, 2017

Video from: http://www.sportsnet.ca/

“You could say, without exaggerating, that Bickell was the cornerstone of the whole project.” – Conn Smythe on Bickell’s role in the construction of Maple Leaf Gardens

Canadian Mining Hall Fame: John Paris Bickell (1884 – 1951) Inducted in 2000

Most follow one path, but John Paris Bickell commanded several successful careers during his extraordinary life. He opened a brokerage firm at the age of 23 and was a millionaire by 30. In 1919, he left the investment business to become president and, later, chairman of McIntyre-Porcupine Mines, one of Ontario’s first and most important gold producers.

Bickell’s achievements went beyond the realm of business, as he had a keen sense of civic duty. During the Second World War, he was appointed by Lord Beaverbrook to Britain’s Ministry of Aircraft Production, where he served with the airplane supply board during the blitz. Upon his return to Canada, he assumed responsibility for Victory Aircraft, the federal agency that manufactured Lancaster bombers for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Exclusive – Glencore makes large cobalt deal, securing EV battery supplies for VW – by Pratima Desai (Reuters U.K. -July 6, 2017)

July 7, 2017

http://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON – Mining giant Glencore (GLEN.L) has signed a major deal to sell up to 20,000 tonnes of cobalt products to a Chinese firm, a move that in turn helps Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) secure car batteries for its shift to electric vehicles, four sources said.

The four-year agreement between Glencore and Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), struck last October, comes as global carmakers race to lock in battery supplies and move away from traditional combustion engines.The trend was reinforced this week by Chinese-owned, Sweden-based Volvo, which said all of its models launched after 2019 will be electric or hybrid.

Cobalt is a key ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles (EVs), with sales expected to grow fast in coming years as governments around the world clamp down on polluting fossil fuels such as diesel and gasoline.

Guinean former fashion model digs into west African mining (AFP – July 5, 2017)

July 7, 2017

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Leaving behind chic gowns and catwalks to stomp in the mud in heavy work boots, Guinean former fashion model Tiguidanke Camara has made herself west Africa’s first woman mine owner. In the small forest village of Guingouine, in the west of Ivory Coast, Camara runs a team of 10 geologists and labourers who are probing the soil for gold deposits.

She readily wades into a mucky pond to help take laboratory samples. “When I was a model, I showed off for the jewellers. They have licences in Africa to provide their precious stones,” says Camara amid a swarm of gnats, still youthful and trim in her 40s.

She does not recall any macho male resistance to her rise in an industry almost devoid of women, though bemused men have been prompted on occasion to ask whose assistant she might be. “When it got too much one day, I had to produce my CEO’s ID badge!” she protests mildly.

Northern Manitoba transportation corridor would have ‘revolutionary impact’ – by Sean Pratt (The Western Producer – July 6, 2017)

July 7, 2017

http://www.producer.com/

A Senate committee has endorsed a plan to build a northern transportation corridor that would revitalize the Port of Churchill. The banking, trade and commerce committee has embraced a proposal by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy to build a 7,000 kilometre east-west corridor through Canada’s north.

“(It) will have as revolutionary an impact on today’s Canadian economy as the coast-to-coast railway did in the 1800s,” the committee said in a news release accompanying its 50-page report on the proposal.

“The idea is to establish a right-of-way that would accommodate highways, railways, pipelines as well as electrical transmission and communications networks.” The right-of-way would tie into existing infrastructure such as the Trans-Canada Highway, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Port of Churchill.